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Dirty Water is the riveting story of how Howard Bennett, a Los Angeles schoolteacher with a gift for outrageous rhetoric, fought pollution in Santa Monica Bay--and won. The story begins in 1985, when many scientists considered the bay to be one of the most polluted bodies of water in the world. The insecticide DDT covered portions of the sea floor. Los Angeles discharged partially treated sewage into its waters. Lifeguards came down with mysterious illnesses. And Howard Bennett happily swam in it every morning.
By accident, Bennett learned that Los Angeles had applied for a waiver from the Clean Water Act to continue discharging sewage into the bay. Incensed that he had been swimming in dirty water, Bennett organized oddball coalition to orchestrate stunts such as wrapping brown ribbon around LA's city hall and issuing Dirty Toilet Awards to chastise the city's administration. This is the fast-paced story of how this unusual cast of characters created an environmental movement in Los Angeles that continues to this day with the nationally recognized Heal the Bay. Character-driven, compelling, and uplifting, Dirty Water tells how even the most polluted water can be cleaned up-by ordinary people.
Product Details
| Publisher | University of California Press |
| ISBN | 0520256603 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Author | Bill Sharpsteen |
| EAN | 9780520256606 |
| Label | University of California Press |
| Edition | 1 |
| Dewey Decimal Number | 363.739409794 |
| Studio | University of California Press |
| Number Of Pages | 288 |
| Title | Dirty Water: One Man's Fight to Clean Up One of the World's Most Polluted Bays |
| Publication Date | 2010-01-05 |
| Manufacturer | University of California Press |
Customer Reviews
A great case-study of the politics of environmentalismReview by A Fan of Quality, 2010-02-17
I was expecting an over-blown recounting of how someone fought against bureaucracy and apathy to change his little corner of the world, but the story was neither that inflated nor that familiar. It was, though, complex, interesting, compelling, and, often, surprising. The natural drama of the story would make this a good read in any case, but the book would also be useful in, say, courses on environmentalism, politics, the psychology of social influence, marine biology, and on and on. Very well done.
A potentially dry topic brought to life
Review by Beth Martin, 2010-01-31
I usually don't read nonfiction books, but I read this one. Bill has brought the topic of water pollution in Santa Monica Bay to life with the colorful stories of real people. He's analyzed all the data and facts for us and gives us the bottom-line of what they mean and why they matter, skillfully weaving them into the story so they're interesting. I had never paid that much attention to the news stories in the '80s of all the sewage spills into the Bay, thinking they were just another bureaucratic failing we had to live with. But this book shows us the power of grass-roots involvement and how just one person can make a difference.
Dirty Water
Review by Jody Gaspar, 2010-01-28
Dirty Water helped me understand how Santa Monica Bay had become so polluted and how a few brave souls helped to clean it up. In many cases it was at a considerable personal cost. The interviews helped to see all those involved as decent people with different points of few. The often surprising interviews made the book hard to put down.
